Students prepare for Costa Rica science trek

A group of local high-schoolers is about to get antsy. Eight students and three staff members from Mound Westonka High soon will be getting up close and personal with leaf-cutter ants when they travel to the rain forests of Costa Rica next week for a 10-day scientific trek.

There, they will get to know the local villagers and participate in hands-on ecological research on the antibiotic-producing ants with scientists from the University of Costa Rica and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

"I love to travel and I love that we're going to learn something on this trip," said rising senior Leeja Miller. "I'm not interested in getting into the tourist traps. ... I want to be immersed in the culture."

The trip is the second installment of the Westonka Summer Institute, an education-abroad program that was launched last summer with a group of 10 students traveling to China.

"These kids will learn so many more skills they can apply in their futures than they would in their traditional classes," said Westonka Summer Institute leader Ann Baumann. "This experience will take their education to an entirely different level. There aren't any... textbooks. It's causing them to think in a new way."

The students will spend a week working alongside Costa Rican students at Finca La Anita, a macadamia and flower plantation that's surrounded by rain forest in northern Costa Rica.

A group of Minnesotans who wanted to save the Costa Rican rain forests began to develop the property more than 20 years ago. Their mission was to support farmers in growing macadamia nuts and sustaining a high-value crop and employment without the annual destruction of large portions of the rain forest for farmland.

Their company, Minntica, provides the capital to operate Finca La Anita and includes both Minnesota and Costa Rica investors.

One of the investors, Lilliam Hoerr, runs the after-school Spanish program at Mound Westonka High. When she heard the Summer Institute was planning an ecological trip, she knew Finca La Anita would be the perfect place.

Today, Finca La Anita's mission includes creating a learning environment that supports environmental education and the needs of rain-forest inhabitants. The Mound Westonka group will be the first high school students to participate in research at the ranch. The farm has about 10 cabins that are available for rental, and that's where the students will stay.

"I want to make this a powerful enough experience so these kids have little problem getting into any science program they want to at any university," said John Doleman, managing director of Minntica.

Doleman said he hopes the experience entices them to pursue careers in science. Minntica will track the students' career paths. If the student research program proves successful, more schools will be invited to participate.

Rising senior Alyssa Mason hopes to discover if a science career is a good fit for her. She also wants to learn more about "going green."

Mason has only one concern: "I'm not a big fan of frogs," she said, speculating that frogs are likely prevalent in the rain forest. "Hopefully I'll grow accustomed to that pretty quickly."

The students also will spend a few days at Playa Grande, home of the famous Costa Rican leatherback turtles. They'll study the beach ecology by touring the Playa Grande estuary which is part of a nationally protected area.

To prepare for their travels, the students have been taking classes to learn more about the environmental, social and cultural history of Costa Rica. They also participated in a live video conference with Cameron Currie, founder of the leaf-cutter ant research program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Each student will earn a half-credit by participating in the Westonka Summer Institute. The course work includes a personal research project that the students have been working on for a few months. When they return from Costa Rica, they'll present their findings at the Science Museum of Minnesota.

Members of this year's Westonka Summer Institute are rising sophomore Ashley Kershaw; rising juniors Johnny Pilling, Cassandra Gierszewski, Ashley Garvais and Michelle Bussey; and rising seniors Leeja Miller, Alyssa Mason and April Frady. The trip costs each student $3,100.

Aimée Blanchette • 612-673-1715